Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to the field of instruction of musicians. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a method of instruction using a virtual metronome that gives the musician the perception of audible sounds emanating from various locations in three-dimensional space.
Description of Prior Art
Musicians have traditionally used many different methods for learning and improving their musicianship. One such method is to employ a metronome to maintain a steady beat during practice of a musical instrument. A metronome is a mechanical or electronic device that makes repeated audible sounds at an adjustable pace, used for marking rhythm. Metronomes measure time in beats per minute. Metronomes allow the user to vary the tempo of the beats by increasing or decreasing the beats per minute generated by the metronome. The metronome was first patented in 1815 by Johann Maelzel as a tool for musicians under the title “Instrument Machine for the Improvement of all Musical Performance, called Metronome.”
Metronomes come in mechanical, electronic, and software forms. A mechanical metronome typically has a pendulum arm that swings back and forth to an adjustable tempo. The very first metronomes were mechanical, and they remain popular even today. However, due to cost and accuracy improvements, electronic metronomes have become the standard.
There is a huge variety of electronic metronomes on the market. Electronic metronome models range from the very simple to the very elaborate. Simple electronic metronomes duplicate in electronic format the function of the mechanical metronome. More elaborate electronic metronomes incorporate sounds and clicks to denote musical meter and subdivided rhythmic groups. Some electronic metronomes assist the musician with a visual representation of when the beat will sound. Finally, the most elaborate electronic metronomes will record and analyze the musician's timing and rhythm and provide a visual depiction and breakdown of how accurate the musician is.
Software based metronomes provide the musician with all of the options available with mechanical and electronic metronomes, but with the audible sounds being controlled and generated by a computer.
A metronome is used by musicians to keep an exact and steady tempo when practicing. Use of a metronome during practice increases the musician's sense of rhythm and timing. Practicing scales, various music drills, or a piece of music to a metronome assists musicians in developing a more precise and accurate sense of time. Use of a metronome assists in learning consistency of tempo and rhythmic beats, and can be incorporated into a practicing technique wherein the metronome is set to progressively higher speeds. Sheet music often has metronome markings that show the speed at which the work should be played. Similarly, when recording music, metronomes are used to set click tracks, which then allow musicians to separately play the different parts of a work which are then synchronized to the click track.
Regular practice with a metronome allows a musician to work on fundamentals, drills, and music while simultaneously building a more precise perception and execution of rhythm and timing. The regular pulse of the metronome creates an external reference point that allows the practicing musician to compare and adjust his or her own rhythm and time to the external reference point. Metronome use can be built into a musician's practice sessions as the musician sees fit. The metronome does not have to be the central focus of a practice session or exercise or drill. The benefits of using a metronome in terms of building a more precise sense of rhythm and time are there for a musician even if the metronome is in the background of the musician's focus during a given practice session.
The metronome thus assists the musician with improving the perception of rhythm and time as made manifest in music's beats/pulse, subdivisions, and meter. Existing metronomes easily facilitate practice regimes, exercises, and drills meant to boost a musician's precision. Existing metronomes allow a musician to make improvement in these areas the centerpiece and focus of a given practice. Use of metronomes in any practice session often has the secondary benefit of improving a musician's sense of rhythm and time.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, existing metronomes are quite limited as a pedagogical tool across the many other aspects of sound and music. They do not assist in the developing of precise perceptions by the musician of other fundamental components and dimensions of sound and music. Existing metronomes do not measure and create an external reference point for the spatial aspects of sound, the distance and placement aspects of sound, the shape aspects of sound, the movement aspects of sound, the volume and crescendo/decrescendo aspects of sound (e.g., emanation and decay aspects of sound), the dynamic aspects of sound, the color/timbral aspects of sound, the pitch/frequency aspects of sound, the harmonic and non-harmonic aspects of sound, or the orchestration aspects of sound.
It is therefore shown that there is a need for a method of music instruction that allows the musician practice tools for addressing multiple aspects of music and sound.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a method of music instruction that allows the musician practice tools for addressing multiple aspects of music and sound.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method of music instruction that uses an improved metronome.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a method of music instruction that allows the musician to perceive metronomic sounds in various locations in three-dimensional space.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a method of music instruction that allows the musician to perceive metronomic sounds that dynamically move through three-dimensional space.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a method of music instruction that allows the musician to perceive metronomic sounds that manifest the Doppler Effect.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a method of music instruction that allows the musician to customize the experience of perceiving metronomic sounds that are located in and dynamically move through three-dimensional space.
Other objects of the present invention will be readily apparent from the description that follows.